Shatter
by He is a Milkman
Summary: Dwicky has been gone for 6 long years and returns to a world broken by war. There is no more technology, no more order, only the vicious struggles of humans in the fight for survival. WARNING: SLASH. DADR. HEAVY LANGUAGE.
1. Chapter 1

**Shatter: Chapter 1  
**

**Rating**: R

**Warning**: Language. Nudity.

**Pairing**: DADR (Dwicky and Dib)

**Summary:** Dwicky has been gone for 6 long years and returns to a world broken by war. There is no more technology, no more order, only the vicious struggles of humans in the fight for survival.

The sky always looked the same. With each new day, the same palate of golds and reds would dribble down into the same blues, which in turn would dive back into the rich autumn colors of the setting sun, where the sky would consume itself in darkness. They were the same colors that painted themselves over the first man, and would still paint on, until the last. The tapestry of stars was unchanging, at least to the human eye. The existence of humans was barely a blink in time. But the stars remained the same for them. The stars that lay witness to the creation were there even in the times of destruction.

A dark figure sat hunched over on an old log at the edge of a brittle forest. Most of the trees were scarred, wounded by fire, while younger trees grew out and reached for the midnight sky. New life rose from the ashes of the old. The forest touched a large, empty field. It was bare and dirty, filled with all sorts of long since discarded objects. Vehicles, pieces of buildings, shopping carts, clothes, computers, and the garbage stretched far across the field and into a crumbled city. Buildings rose like jagged teeth, struggling to remain erect as they decayed. But the figure remained away from the city in the distance.

A soft curl of smoke rose and danced away into the cool night air. In the dark, all that was visible was the soft glow of the lit end of a cigarette, which grew brighter with each inhale. It was a man, no, a boy, perhaps in his late teens. He was tall and lithe, though his baggy shirt hid most of it. Glasses glinted in the darkness, though they were a bit dusty and the rims a bit damaged. Beside him lay a heavy jacket, the color invisible in the dark. His well worn and torn pants clung just as loosely to him and his heavy black boots crunched the tiny rocks and dust beneath his feet. His hair was short aside from a thick lock that hung down his face, ending at shoulder length.

"Damn it… Last one." He mumbled to himself as he took a smooth drag, savoring the smoke that filled his lungs. "And I'm really not in the mood for… them." He rolled his tongue over his teeth and groaned softly.

"Pity. I was hoping for an added bonus from you." A deep voice purred behind the boy.

"Oh?" The boy raised a brow as he glanced behind him, squinting at the dark shapes of the forest.

"Would save me a trip if yah had smokes on yah as well." The gleam of a blade flashed from the forest, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps approaching.

"Lovely. I'm being robbed." The boy rolled his eyes and put a hand to his face, as if things weren't bad enough.

"Ah, don't get all depressed now. Just hand over anything valuable and I'll be on me way." A dirty man turned to stand in front of the boy. He wielded a very large, chipped bowie knife. "I'd hate to get violent with yah."

"Hmm. Well. Do you really think I'd be sitting out here, alone, unarmed?" The boy raised his brow higher and blew a cloud of smoke into the night.

"Stop delaying or I'll have to cut yer throat. It'd leave an awful stinking mess. No one wants that, now do they? Though the dogs would have a nice feast." The man waved the knife threateningly as he spoke.

"I'm not about to give away everything I have to some toothless highwayman." The boy flicked the dead cigarette away and gathered his heavy jacket into his arms, one hand hiding away into its depths. He rose and stood tall to stare the man down. "Better to die fighting than without money."

"Don't make this difficult, boy." The ragged man's voice remained firm, but faltered slightly.

The boy suddenly lashed his concealed hand out with a blade of his own. The flash of stained metal bit into the man's wrist, and the intense pain made him drop his bowie knife. The man was taken aback by the quick motion, and grunted in building agony as his other hand clapped onto his new wound. The boy narrowed his eyes as he took the opportunity to land a hard kick to his offender's shin, which made the man buckle. Upon his lowered state, the boy dropped his jacket to wrap stringy arms around the thief's neck, his blade placed taut against the rough, stubbled flesh near his jugular vein.

"You really must be stupid." The boy's hand twitched gently, and the blade licked at the man's neck, producing a tiny bead of blood. "You should know that the children of destruction aren't ones to be messed with. We were young when this all happened, we grew up in it. We became a part of it…" His eye twitched a little as well, memories biting at his mind.

"Augh. Little bastard…" All the man could do was growl and wish he had picked a weaker victim.

"Shut the hell up, you piece of filth." The boy pulled his knife away only to knee the man in the face and drop him to the ground. "It's shit like you that keeps the world like this." He stepped aside to retrieve his jacket, but couldn't help a swift kick to the thief's stomach. "But then again…" the boy reached down to pull a worn pack of cigarettes from the man's front pocket. "It's the shit like me that doesn't do a damn thing to change it…"

And so the boy left the man there to tend to his bloodied wrist. Before he completely disappeared into the darkness, he took the man's knife as well. It would fetch a decent price on the market, and the boy always needed money. He pulled a slightly crinkled cigarette from its dirty package and placed it at his lips, yanking a rusty Zippo from the depths of his jacket. He lit the cig and purred a ghost of nicotine into the air as he made his way to the city, dodging and hopping over mounds of trash as he went.

The city was filthy, in complete ruin. The streets were covered with grime and soggy papers, not to mention the occasional dead dog. Cars lay abandoned as rusty skeletons, stripped of all their precious resources. The buildings themselves were dirty, and most of the windows were broken, or covered up by ancient, soggy pieces of cardboard. Thick rusted cables that once made up the inner support of the cement structures jutted out of the buildings dangerously. The streets were lit by huge fires in large metal barrels that lined the left side of the street. The boy brushed by a few people, who angrily growled insults at him, to turn into a dark alley. The ground was damp with unknown substances, though the rank stench identified some of it as alcoholic vomit. He turned again, but down a dank, slippery staircase that descended into the depths the building.

It was a bar. Though it was lit by a few old coffee cans, the light struggled through the haze of smoke that swallowed the room. There was a long wooden bar with a few worn out stools, as well as a few tables (and crates serving as tables) scattered about. Most of the occupants were rugged men drowning their sorrows in yellowed mugs of alcohol. The boy made his way to the bar and set his jacket on a creaking old stool, slipping himself onto the one beside it. He grinned at the fat, sweaty bartender, who was scrubbing a chipped yellow mug with a dirty cloth.

"What can I get for this?" The boy stabbed the bar top with the bowie knife.

"Ah. Dib, was wondering when you'd show up." The fat, balding man licked his cracked, dry lips and didn't seem bothered at all by the fact that his bar had been attacked by the knife. "Well, besides pay off your tab…" He yanked it free and inspected the blade. "Enough drinks for the night…"

Dib grinned, pleased with the conclusion. "Good." He answered simply as he blew smoke, which disappeared into the dark cloud that loomed over them.

"About time too." He placed a full mug in front of the boy and leaned on the bar, pointing the rag in his direction. "Can never trust you damn kids. Always stealing and fighting. Wouldn't be surprised if I found you dead outside the bar one of these days."

"Well… I don't go looking for trouble." Dib rolled his eyes a little as he took a long drink.

"Doesn't matter! It'll always find you." The bartender leaned his large self over a bit to place the knife away under the bar. "I've got a business here. I can't have all my customers running high tabs and then getting themselves a nice knife to the back."

"You could just, not let people run a tab." Dib licked the rim of the mug free of beer. It had a slight salty taste to it; it was far from the cleanest thing in the world.

"You sure as shit know that would be stupid. Times like these, every man wants to waste his mind and escape from his miserable reality." He grinned, teeth yellowed and half rotten. "Which is why this is the perfect business."

"Hm. No good if they're all dead." Dib paused from drinking to take a drag from his cigarette.

"That's their own damn faults." He snorted. "Always fighting." He spat angrily. "Fighting is what got us all in this mess. Always fighting over something… Women, Land, hell, now peoples fighting over small things, like clothes or smokes."

"Yeah… I can understand that…" Dib inwardly smirked to himself, tapping the ash of his stolen cig onto the bar top.

"Well, can't change what's happened, now can we?" The bartender sighed as he refilled another man's mug before returning his conversation with the teen. "Pity that no one gives enough of a damn to change things."

"Mmm. Yeah." Dib leaned back as he attempted to get the last few drops of beer from his mug before he set it down to be refilled. "But what's the point?" He pressed the cig to his lips and glance at the other miserable figures down the bar. "It'll just happen again, won't it?"

"Probably." The fat man nodded. "Probably…"

Dib continued to drink late into the night. Eventually he was forced out of the bar as dawn was mere hours away. He was more than a bit tipsy, and stumbled through the streets, his jacket clumsily clinging to him. He made his way back to the field, though farther south than he had been before. Though his mind was stupefied by cheap alcohol, he knew better than to risk getting jumped while shitfaced. He had no home to go to. His bed was where ever he would pass out. But he stumbled on, attempting to find a nice shell of car or bent sheet of metal that would block out the eminent sun.

"Shit." He mumbled to himself as he tripped over a rusted metal pip half embedded into the ground. He caught himself, barely. He reached out into the darkness before him and was met with something smooth, yet grimy. Dib squinted his hazy eyes and struggled to his feet. It was the hood of a car. The doors were long since ripped off, but it still had its roof, which was all that mattered. He was about to crawl in when he heard a low rumble in the distance. His body tensed and the hand that gripped the rusty doorframe of the car twitched. A jolt of bad memories bit into his mind and he gave a slight gasp.

"Not again… No. Can't be." Dib mumbled to himself as he glanced about, a sudden alertness filling his senses. He swayed slightly from the alcohol, but the fear in his eyes kept him standing.

There was another lower rumble and Dib nervously glanced about. He took a step forward, his right hand diving into the hidden pocket on the inside of his jacket, ready to whip out his blade. If what he thought the sound had come from was indeed true, though, the blade would be utterly useless. Soon the rumble grew to a deafening moan of air forced from valved machinery. Suddenly a bright light filled the area and Dib raised his arms to shield his eyes. There was a sharp sound of metal running against lubed metal and a heavy clunking groan of mechanical weight resting on the ground. Dib kept his arms over his eyes as the bright light continued to bathe the area. The sound of footsteps lowering themselves from grating to solid earth was barely audible over the sound of engines powering up and preparing for lift off.

As suddenly as it had appeared, the light was gone with a rush of heated wind. Dib blinked against the dirty sleeves of his jacket before he finally lowered his arms, still gripping the knife tightly. He squinted his eyes as a figure stood in the darkness. His mind was still stupefied by the alcohol, and he was left in a daze. The person before him glanced about, looking rather lost. He was a man, older than Dib and slightly taller. Dib opened his mouth to speak, but the man beat him to it.

"Oh my. This can't be right." The voice was oddly familiar.

"What? Wait. What?" Dib blinked as his thick lock of hair hung over his face.

"I didn't expect to be dropped off in a garbage dump…" The man mumbled to himself before realizing he wasn't alone. "Um. Excuse me."

Dib suddenly narrowed his eyes and waved his knife. Surely it would be enough for the man to get the message that he didn't want visitors.

"Ah!" The man hopped backwards a bit. "Calm down… I just want to know where I am."

"Does it matter?" Dib leaned back against the car. He was getting so sleepy.

"Well, yes. I'd like to try to find my way home."

"Home?" Dib raised a brow at the strange man. "Home is where you make it."

"Yes. Home… Though I've been gone a really… I mean, REALLY, long time." He put a hand to his chin in thought. "I wonder if they would let me back in my apartment… They probably threw away all my stuff."

"Are you some crazy…" Dib stopped himself. He wanted to say 'drunk', but he was just as guilty of the fact.

"No. No. I just… Hey. Tell you what. Can you just point me in the direction of the nearest phone…?"

Dib suddenly burst out laughing. He doubled over slightly, nearly dropping his knife. When he was finished, he was stricken with hiccups. "How the"_hic_"hell can you"_ hic_ "use a phone if" _hic_ "there hasn't been electri-" _hic _"-city in years?"

"I don't think I'm quite getting--" The man started, but was soon interrupted.

"Look, weirdo. I'm tired, I want to sleep. Just go off and babble your stupid questions elsewhere." Dib's hiccups slowly died down. "I dunno if you suffered from some sort of freak accident, or radiation, or SOMETHING…" Dib waved the knife to prove his point. "But you're not going to find a phone. Not one that works, at least."

"May I ask why?" The man nervously leaned back on his heels.

"Why? Why!" Dib twitched angrily and the leather bound handle of his knife squeaked under his tightening grip. "When they came… when they… destroyed… everything." His breath quickened and his mind ached. It was obvious that the boy was losing his cool. It only made the stranger even more nervous, angry people and knives don't mix.

"Whoa. Whoa… Calm down." The man backed up a little, as if the teenager would stab out his eyes at any moment. "You mean, this…"

"Look around you, moron. Look there." Dib pointed the knife in the direction of the dim city, which was lightly encased in the predawn dimness. "All destroyed. All broken."

"Oh my…" The man gave a nervous shudder. "Is this real? I'm not…" He pinched himself and gave a slight 'ow'. "I'm not dreaming, am I? This has to be some sort of alien…"

"Don't say that word! Just don't say it!" Dib barked and moved forward, the gravel crunching beneath his boots as he waved the knife in the man's face.

"Ah! Sorry! Sorry!" He nervously chuckled. "I just wanted to… Hey. Don't I know you?" The man raised a brow as the growing light began to reveal more and more of Dib's details.

"Maybe. Who knows nowadays? Doesn't matter." Dib shrugged and looked off to the side, distracted by his own jumbled, drunken thoughts.

"Yes. Yes I know you… You are…" He squinted as he tried to inspect the boy's face, tapping his chin as he pondered before he had an eureka. "Dib!"

Dib jerked his head at his name and narrowed his brown eyes a bit. "Who are you?"

"Don't you remember me?" The man grinned before nervously putting a hand behind his head. "I'm your old skool counselor… Mister-"

"Dwicky." Dib interrupted him. He stared at the man with wide eyes, unsure of how to react. "You left…"

"Yes. I did."

"And you came back."

"I sure did."

"You… MORON!" Dib growled and suddenly shoved Dwicky. The man stumbled and tripped, landing on his bum with an 'oof'. "Why the hell would you come back! With all that," Dib's body twitched as he hung onto the next word "alien… technology and you couldn't figure out to stay the fuck away from Earth!"

"Ah! I didn't know! They didn't know. I just wanted a quick drop off." Dwicky watched the troubled teen above him. "And… are you drunk?" He raised a brow. "Aren't you a little young?"

"They… Just… I…" The boy struggled over his words, too filled with rage and alcohol to properly order them. "It doesn't fucking matter how old I am! There isn't a government anymore, there is nothing. Only people. Dirty, dirty… Ugh! I'm going to sleep." With that, he turned around and stomped back over to the car, tossing himself on the old, springy backseat.

Dwicky sat there for a moment, absorbing it all in. He sighed and slowly lifted himself up, dusting the dirt off his black pants. He stood there a moment, feeling quite helpless and lost. His eyes traveled to the city that looked as if it had seen many a bombing. It felt like he was in some bad 1940s movie, and he shuddered. Eventually, he glanced over to where Dib had planted himself. With a sigh, he walked over. "Hey…"

"What?" Dib grunted and tried to curl up on himself.

"Umm… Mind if I stay here for the night?" Dwicky leaned with his arms folded on the roof of the car, his forehead pressed against them as he watched the boy.

"I don't care. I can't stop you."

"Well. Could you explain a little more tomorrow?" Dwicky moved to climb into the front seat of the car, and it groaned under his weight.

"Yes. Tomorrow. Whatever. Go to sleep." Dib wrapped his long jacket tighter around himself and Dwicky frowned to himself as he settled himself down to stare at the rusty car ceiling.


	2. Chapter 2

**Shatter: Chapter 2 **

**Rating**: R**  
Warning**: Language.  
**Pairing **: DADR (Dwicky and Dib)  
**Summary:** Dwicky has been gone for 6 long years and returns to a world broken by war. There is no more technology, no more order, only the vicious struggles of humans in the fight for survival.

The sun baked down across the barren field and the forest was alive with the sounds of birds challenging one another to duels of poetic song. Dib lay awkwardly sprawled out on the torn, beaten backseat of the car he had claimed the previous night, well, morning. His mouth hung open with his head to the side. The long, limp lock of hair swung gently against the rusty floorboard. It was past noon, though the sun still burned with a fiery brilliance. Dib twitched a bit in his sleep as a bead of sweat rolled down his face.

Outside of the car, Dwicky paced back and forth. He hadn't been able to fall asleep, already well rested. And even if he hadn't been, the worry and realization would have kept him up. He paused to glance over at the broken city. It looked worse than a third world country. Something terrible must had happened in his absence. He glanced over at the sleeping teen. Something terrible enough to leave the once inquisitive, energetic boy as a brooding, violently bitter teen. The change in Dib was shocking, but he had to consider the terrible things Dib told so little of.

"Well… Shit." It was the only word that could describe how he felt. He turned back to look at the crumbled city with a sigh. "What do I do now…?" he asked aloud to himself.

"That's what everyone is asking themselves." Dib's voice startled the older man. "You'll get used to it." The boy sat up and huffed as he slipped off his jacket and slung it over an arm. "Damn, it is hot."

"Oh. You're awake." Dwicky gave a smile, though it weakened as it was met with a scowl.

"Yeah. I am." Dib rolled his eyes as he pulled himself up and out of the car, stretching his sore, lithe muscles. "Mm… Ah. Smoke, smoke, smoke… I need a smoke." The boy groped around his jacket for a cigarette and his lighter, his mood seeming to brighten a tad when he inhaled his first drag with a low purr of sorts.

Though Dwicky didn't approve of an underage smoker, who was he to judge? His slate wasn't exactly clean itself. "I wouldn't know where to begin…" Dwicky mumbled to himself. Where would he go from here?

"Begin? Ha! No point in beginning anywhere, there is no where to go. This is the end, you could say." He ran his hand flat in a horizontal line before him. "All a smooth nothing from here on."

"Oh. Well. Since you--" Dwicky nervously tapped his fingers together.

"Ugh. Do you realize how much I want to say NO to that?" Dib knew the question was coming.

"I have no where else to go, no one to go with." Not to mention the dirty, scary, city unnerved him to no ends.

"You think I do? You think I ever did!" Anger rose in the boy as he twitched, teeth gritting slightly.

Dwicky opened his mouth, about to say something, when Dib interrupted the poor man once again.

"We were partners once. Remember? Partners!" Dib huffed smoke through his nose like an angry bull. "And what did you do? You betrayed me. It was a lie. All a lie." The boy looked away and set a hand to his head. It hurt. "Why do I want to be with the one person… The one person who seemed to WANT to be my friend… The one person I thought believed me…" He twitched and turned to narrow burning brown eyes. "How can I even trust you?"

"Dib. I was trying to help you…" Dwicky weakly protested.

"Help me! You could have 'helped' me if you just tried to dump that psychological bullshit on me. But no. Oh no. You had to… do that. And then what happened? What happened?" Dib clenched his fist and stomped a foot towards Dwicky, leaning toward the man. "You were proven wrong. That night… That night you left. You took everything, Dwicky."

The man nervously took a step back, though he was glad the boy wasn't wielding the blade. "What did I take?" His words were cautious and low.

"You took the illusion of friendship! You took proof of," Dib paused "THEM. And, and you took… Ugh." The boy slumped his shoulders in defeat. "Just forget it." Dib waved a hand and took a drag, puffing it into the air and squinting in the heat. "But, yeah. Whatever. Fucking FINE. I don't care if you tag along." He gave a slight shrug and turned around, starting to walk away. "Nothing ever matters anyway."

"Where are we going?" Dwicky quickly trailed behind the slinking boy.

"To the river." Dib purred a ghostly dancer of smoke into the air. "Fucking hot. I'm sweaty. You do the math."

It was obvious that along with no electricity, there was no more running water. Dwicky suddenly felt a small flip of his stomach. No sinks, no showers, no… toilets. Ew. He twitched slightly, but shook his head. He really should have paid attention better in boy scouts. At least it would prepare him for the bleak present that lay around him.

Dib's pace eventually quickened as they trekked against the wasteland of garbage and filth. Dwicky was nervous, everything looked so dirty and sharp. He wasn't paying attention to where he was going, and didn't hear the sound of Dib hopping over something in their path. Dwicky unfortunately didn't see it until it was too late, and tripped over it, landing on hands and knees. He grunted and turned his head back to see what it was, his color going completely pale as his eyes met a half decayed skull.

"Oh… my… God…" Dwicky just stared at the crumpled, skeletal body and scrambled to his feet, backing up into Dib. The body was naked and shriveled, in a dry, almost mummified state.

"It is just a dead body…" Dib rolled his eyes as the older man backed up into him.

"Just… Just a dead body!" Dwicky pointed at it, he sounded breathless. "A dead… HUMAN body!"

"So?" Dib wasn't fazed at all, completely desensitized to such things.

"Ugh. Can we just… go. Please." Dwicky gave a few hard shudders that nearly knocked him off balance.

"Yeah. Sure." Dib smirked to himself as he continued on. Dwicky's reaction was funny. It was just a dead body after all, no big deal.

Eventually they turned into the forest to walk down a well worn trail of muddy deer tracks and discarded human junk. Dib idly kicked a rusty can out of his way. The shade of the forest was annoyingly limited, most of the trees were dead, yet still stood defiantly. It had only been a few years since the destruction, so the younger, healthier trees were only beginning to claim the woods as their own. Soon the trail became rocky and opened up to a large clearing of smooth stones and more junk. A downed, stripped aircraft lay a few hundred yards away from them. Weeds grew up from the bottom, and rust crusted its once magnificent surface. A wide river snaked through the forest, washing away the filth of the past.

Dib tossed his jacket aside so it landed on a log near the water's edge. He didn't want to get it wet, but he still wanted to keep an eye on it. He leaned forward, still walking, and yanked his shirt off his sticky, sweaty body. His glasses threatened to fall, but he pressed them back up as he simply threw his shirt to the ground. The dirty, smudged, dried blood encrusted flesh of his face and hands were contrasted by the milky white flesh of his normally unexposed skin. He took a drag of his cig as he hopped on each foot to tug off his boots and toss them behind him, where Dwicky had to dodge them, lest he get booted to the face.

"Ah. Careful." Dwicky mumbled as a boot whizzed past his head. His eyes followed the offending boot, but quickly glanced back at their owner. It really was amazing how pale the boy was under his clothes.

"Mmm?" Dib fingered the belt of his pants, his back to Dwicky. "Are you going to be joining me?" He undid his belt and glanced back at Dwicky. "Cause if you aren't, you should watch my stuff."

"Oh… I'll-. Ah!" Dwicky quickly turned as the boy's pants dropped to his ankles and were kicked off. He was totally commando under his jeans.

"What's your problem?" Dib raised a brow as he stood there, as naked as the day he was born.

"I am… uhh… Not good around naked people. Modest, I guess?" He tried to wave the color that built at his cheeks. It was embarrassment. Yes. That's right. _Embarrassment_.

"Ha! Well, get used to it. On hot days, most people run around naked." Dib walked into the cool water and submerged himself with a purr, which he emitted in smoke.

"Ehh…" Dwicky glanced through spread fingers before turning around fully. He nervously adjusted his tie, trying not to think of the taut, white, firm, young… b **NO /b **.

"I mean…" Dib raised a brow at the odd, nervous adult. "Who is gonna stop us? The police?" He smirked and pulled his cig away from his lips to hold it over his head as he submerged all but it. When he resurfaced, his hair clung to him in thin stringy strands.

"If that's not addicted, I don't know what is…" Dwicky raised a brow at the boy's attempt to preserve his cigarette.

"Are you going to join me or not? You never answered me." Dib rubbed his face free of the dirt smudges and blew away some of the cool water from his lips. "Not that I care. I just want to know if I should get my knife or not. The world is crawling with thieves…"

"Oh. Well." Dwicky thought it over. Bathe naked with a teenage boy in a secluded mountain river or not. He raised a brow, why did this seem like the setting of some homoerotic movie? Wait. Not homoerotic. What? He wasn't attracted to the boy or anything. Why would he even think that? He was a perfectly normal man who liked perfectly normal things. Like, beer and women, right?

"You make weird faces when you think." Dib glared dully.

"Sure."_Why the hell not. _After all, who was going to do anything about it? Just innocent bathing, anyway. Dwicky started to loosen his tie as he watched the boy take a drag and stare at him. The fact he had an audience was a bit unnerving.

"Look. We are both guys. I don't care. You don't have anything I haven't seen before." Dib rolled his eyes at the man's nervous modesty, though secretly he was cracking up on the inside.

"Yeah. Yeah. I was never good at things like… public showers. Or… other places where you are naked in front of people… Naked in high school nightmares?" He gave a nervous laugh as he tossed his tie aside, starting to unbutton his shirt. He let it slip off behind him and then went to his shoes, socks, but hesitated on his pants. With a nervous gulp, he unbuckled and slipped them and his underwear off, standing rigid and nervous afterwards.

"See? Not so bad." Dib tried to hide the smirk. This was too funny. He had forgotten the amusement other humans often brought. "Now could you get my knife?"

"Huh?" Dwicky blinked, a hand on his face, as if it would cover the red. "Uh. Sure." He walked over to the boy's jacket and groped at it before he felt the firm, sharp knife. He reached his hand into the depths and pulled it out, though his hand shook a little. He never liked weapons. With a breath, he turned and headed into to water and towards the teen, handing it to the boy when he waded beside him.

"Thanks…" The word sounded odd on his tongue as Dib took the knife. He watched Dwicky with dull, uninterested eyes.

"Ah. Really cold." He wrapped his arms around himself. "But that's good in this heat."

"Yep…" Dib flicked the dead cig into the water, watching it sail downstream. He then brushed back his limp, wet, thick lock of hair and dropped underwater.

"And…" Dwicky blinked as the boy disappeared as he was about to speak. He frowned slightly, but it was soon replaced with a panicked "Ah!" as he was suddenly pulled underwater. He sputtered as he surfaced, wiping the water from his eyes. "Argh!"

Dib just laughed as he surfaced beside him. But he soon blinked at himself. He hadn't laughed like that in years. He was… playing. The boy suddenly scowled, as if the thought was annoyingly absurd. Dwicky raised a brow and blinked at the sudden change in Dib's attitude, and the boy just backslapped a splash at the man, which only made him grin again.

"Ah. Hey." Dwicky sputtered again as sharp beads of water slapped his face. He gave a grin and returned it with a splash of his own.

Dib sputtered and blew at the water that tried to drown him. "Hey." Dib growled in mock ferocity. "Not a good idea to do that to a guy with a knife." He lifted a hand up to wave said weapon a bit.

"Ah. Well." Dwicky smirked nervously.

"You're so jumpy…" Dib smirked as well, but it was tinged with slight sadism. Dwicky was just so, amusing. He paused a moment before he threw his body back into the water, kicking a few splashes at the older man. "And you let your guard down easily."

Dwicky just stood there, defeated. He blew some water off his face, one eye opened and the other closed. "You're right. I do. But, you know, Dib…"

"Hmmm?" The boy raised a brow.

"There is a reason for it." Dwicky nodded wisely, smirking as if he had some sort of delicious secret.

"There is a reason why you let your guard down?" Dib wasn't buying it, but stood with folded arms, tapping the flat of his blade against his slender upper arm.

"Yes. You see, it is because--" The man suddenly barraged the boy with splashes.

"Argh. You dirty--" Dib sputtered before unleashing his own wave.

"Ha ha. Ah!" Dwicky choked a little on the water before he turned his back to the fierce pellets of water. "Ah. I give, I give. You're too much."

Dib grinned, his normally bitter mood having melted away. "Of course, amateur."

"Oh yes, you're the king of splash wars." Dwicky gave a mock bow.

"And don't you forget it…" The boy started to head to shore where he picked up his shirt and pants.

Dwicky nervously turned his head as his vision was once again filled with the body of the naked teenager. But this time, the boy was cleaner. A few scabs still clung to his body, but at least the dirt was gone. Dib waded back into the water, knife held in his teeth as he began to dunk his clothes. Dwicky raised a brow as he watched him from where they had been before. He supposed he should get out, but he was still nervous. It was one thing for an underage boy to prance around naked, but for an older man to be naked with him? Dwicky shuddered as his own thoughts.

Dib was eventually satisfied with his work and laid his clothes out on a dead branch protruding from the log he had placed his jacket on. He also stabbed his knife into the wood. It would be a while before the clothes would dry. That only meant the boy would prance around naked even longer. Great, just great.

"Hey. You coming out?" Dib stretched and popped his back with a loud crack and a contented groan.

Dwicky stared for a moment at the slight ripple of lithe muscles stretching and relaxing. "Huh?" He hadn't heard a word the boy said.

"Are you going to get the fuck out of the water?" Dib stared at him, unamused at the fact he had to repeat himself.

"Oh yeah…" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously and stalked towards shore. He shouldn't have felt like this. Why was he so nervous? And why the hell did Dib have such a nice… _NO_! The man shook his head, trying to shake his thoughts out, but disguised it as shaking the water off his head.

"When my clothes dry, I want to go to market. I'm fucking starving." Dib gripped his belly and stuck out his tongue.

"Market?" Dwicky's first thought was a lovely grocery store of sorts.

"Well, yeah. Just a bunch of stands, people haggling shit for shit. It is probably the most organized thing around… but fights still erupt. People steal, kill. Ha." Dib smirked and plunked himself down on the log, resting elbows on his knees and leaning his head in his hands.

"Is there… money?" Dwicky picked up his clothes, immediately holding them over his lower regions. He just didn't feel comfortable naked in front of a young boy.

"Kinda. Coins and shit, yeah. Paper isn't really worth much. Mostly people want objects… or… services." Dib raised a brow, a suggestive smirk painting itself on his lips.

"Services?" Dwicky blinked before he realized what he meant. "Oh. Oh… OH!" He coughed nervously. "Haha… Well. World's oldest profession, I suppose."

"Hmm…" Dib stared at the man for a moment, lost in his own thoughts. It was a few moments before he spoke again. Poor Dwicky was left in an awkward silence while he waited for something to happen. "What was it like?"

"Hmm?"

"Out there." Dib pointed up.

"Oh. It was… neat." Dwicky looked away. "But it was nothing like home."

"Home." The boy mumbled the word to himself before he spoke up. "This isn't home anymore. No, not really."

"No… No it's not." Dwicky sighed softly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Shatter: Chapter 3  
**

**Rating**: R  
**Warning**: Language. Blood. Fighting.  
**Pairing**: DADR (Dwicky and Dib)  
**Summary:** Dwicky has been gone for 6 long years and returns to a world broken by war. There is no more technology, no more order, only the vicious struggles of humans in the fight for survival.

The Market was located in the heart of the city. Most of it was out in the open, a sea of makeshift stalls and sweaty people. Horses and goats were led about, their masters trying to sell them. Dogs stalked the area, and were often met with a hard kick when they tried to steal scraps of food. A few stalls lay in a wide 'alley' resting in the shade of two buildings that had fallen and caught against each other. They lay in perfect balance, creating an unnatural arch effect. It was a miracle that they remained standing, but there were stranger things in the world.

Dib walked slowly with a cigarette at his lips. He let the ash fall away at the tip as a hand rose to brush the thick strand of hair out of his eyes. As hot as it was, he still wore his jacket. He didn't trust to hold it, for fear of it being stolen. One arm stayed close to the opening of the jacket, always ready to whip out his blade if the need arose. He knew full well that someone was just as vulnerable in the day as they were at night. People were animals. It sickened the boy. And to think he had wanted to save them…

Dwicky was reminded of some documentary he had seen years back. The filth and destruction couldn't have been the country he left. Surely he was dropped off in some god forsaken country where the people waited for death, and possible charity from the innumerable organizations. He shuddered as a rather aggressive, angry, dirt stained little boy passed him. The children of this world were the worst. They were so bitter. Most of the adults were miserable, everything they once knew had been destroyed. But the children; the children grew up in this hellhole, this was their world.

"People are staring…" Dib's voice was low as he eyed the people on the street. A few were indeed staring, and stopped just to stare at the two.

"I wonder why…" Dwicky mumbled to himself and adjusted his tie nervously.

"It is you." Dib took a sharp turn and suddenly reached out to grab the front of Dwicky's shirt, yanking him into an alley. They were relatively alone, except for a few sleeping old men in boxes and ancient blankets.

"Me?" Dwicky grunted as he was roughly pulled into the alley. "Why me?"

Dib narrowed his eyes. "You're too clean."

"Why thank you… I think?" Dwicky raised a brow, it was an odd statement.

"No! You idiot." Dib shoved Dwicky back against the damp brick wall. "Have you not been listening to me at all?" He didn't let the man reply. "You're like fresh meat in front of a pack of half starved wolves!" An angry cloud of smoke blew into Dwicky's face.

"Because I'm clean?" Dwicky raised a brow, blinking as Dib bent down to a crouch for a moment. "What are you doing down there?"

"You need to be dirtier." Dib rose and suddenly smeared a handful of concrete dust on the front of Dwicky's shirt.

"Ah… My shirt." Dwicky groaned mournfully as the boy ruined his only shirt.

"Hmm… Maybe a few knicks…" Dib mumbled to himself as he pulled his knife from its hiding place.

"Ah. I really hate that thing… And, hey, Ah! Don't cut _me_." Dwicky squirmed as the teen began to add a few tears and rips to his shirt. "And was that big one really necessary?"

"You look like someone who would get beaten up a lot… I should probably give your face a few bruises. Make it more believable, you know?" Dib smirked as he patted Dwicky's cheek. The older man just gave a nervous chuckle, which ended in an uncomfortable cough. "Maybe some dried blood…"

"Ah! No! I'm fine! I can earn my blood." Dwicky pressed back against the wall since the boy blocked him from any escape.

"You can have some of mine then…" Dib rolled his eyes. "Look. The dirtier you look, the less people will want to kill you. Your clothes, as they were before, would have been worth quite a bit."

"What! You can't cut yourself!" Dwicky lifted a hand to protest, but it was stopped by the smooth, dull side of the blade.

"Nothing big, just a small cut." Dib sighed as he pulled his blade back to slice a shallow cut into the upper corner of his left palm.

"I don't really approve of this." Dwicky winced as a tiny swell of blood formed on the teen's hand.

"What are you? My father?" Dib spat angrily as he grabbed Dwicky's shirt, yanking him roughly. "You're nothing to me, you know that?" He pressed and smeared blood around the cuts he had made into the shirt earlier. A few times his skin pressed against Dwicky's through the holes, bloodying the flesh under his clothes.

"Then what am I?" Dwicky raised a brow, trying to hide the hurt of the statement. He shuddered at the sticky feeling of the boy's hot blood on his skin. "Why do you let me tag along?"

"I pity you…" Dib quickly pulled away and started to walk out of the alley, placing his knife back into his jacket as he did so. He flicked his dead cigarette onto the ground.

Dwicky frowned, staying slack against the wall for half a moment before he sighed and followed the boy out.

"Okay. You look better." Dib had his back to Dwicky as he spoke, scanning the crowd suspiciously. "I have some people I need to talk to… and I can't have you there."

"Why not?" Dwicky blinked and nervously eyed a dog that paused to sniff at his leg. He tried to shoo it away, and it growled before stalking away.

"People know me here… And I can't have you ruining my reputation." Dib's body language gave the illusion that he wasn't even talking to Dwicky. Anyone watching wouldn't have thought the two knew each other.

"Am I really that bad?" Dwicky raised a brow and poked at the drying blood on his skin, it was still sticky, and stuck to his fingertips.

Dib didn't answer right away. "Think of me as a loner… Just stay here and don't get into any trouble." He grunted to himself, feeling that he had too much faith in Dwicky to leave him by himself. It made him feel like a babysitter, or parent. Dwicky was an adult, he shouldn't need to be looked after.

Dib disappeared into the crowd and Dwicky sighed. He put a hand to his head before he lowered it to nervously bite at the knuckle of his index finger. He glanced to the left, then the right. Things seemed pretty peaceful at the moment. People no longer stared at him and they went about their day. After a few moments of calm, Dwicky relaxed. He still felt as if he was in some sort of horrible nightmare. What exactly had happened? Dib obviously didn't want to go into much detail, and he felt too awkward asking anyone else. Surely they would question where the hell he had been to miss the very NOTICEABLE destruction.

"You lost, buddy?" A voice purred behind Dwicky. He quickly turned to stare at a grinning teenage boy. He was just as dirty as everyone else, but had wild, almost blindingly bright orange hair in a stringy Mohawk that hung limp to one side of his head. He was dressed mostly in faded leather. 'Greaser' was the only word that could describe the boy. He appeared to be around Dib's age.

"Ah. No. Just waiting on someone." Dwicky scanned the crowd, wishing Dib was back already.

"Oh… A friend? A girlfriend? A laaaaaady of the night? Eh eh? Haha." The boy's eye twitched every now and then, which made Dwicky a little uncomfortable.

"Ah. No. Just a friend…" Dwicky gnawed on his finger before he lowered his hand. Damn, this kid was spooky. His wide grin and twitching eyes, not to mention the grating pitch of his voice.

"That must be a pretty new shirt, there." The boy reached a hand out to feel the fabric. "Barely beaten in at all…"

"Ah. Well…" Dwicky backed up a little as a grubby hand reached out for him. He wanted to say he had to be going, but he had no where to go. And not to mention that Dib told him not to go anywhere.

"I'd love to have a shirt like this…" The boy mumbled and gave it another tug before he lifted his hand up to grip the tie. "And a tie. Very fancy!"

"Could you please… stop?" Dwicky squeaked.

"What?" The boy raised a brow and stared at the man. His eye twitched lightly.

"Could you stop… touching me?" Dwicky smiled weakly.

"No!" The boy suddenly produced an old switchblade, which he lightly poked Dwicky's belly with. "I want that shirt!"

Dwicky sucked his stomach in a little, trying to pull away from the blade. "Ah… Hey… Hey… Let's not get violent now."

"Ooo. Nice earring too. Is that real gold?" The boy yanked the man down to inspect his ear.

"Ah! Hey!" Dwicky grunted as his head was bowed forward.

"Come with me… We'll see what all you have on you." The grungy teen pulled Dwicky into an alley and waved the blade at him. "Come on now, off with that shirt."

Dwicky stumbled before righting himself. He stared at the boy for a moment. What was with all the teenage boys trying to get him to take his clothes off? The knife was a good enforcer, however, and he began to reluctantly unbutton his shirt.

"Hurry up!" The boy twitched and glanced out beyond the alley. It was almost like the look of a predator nervously watching for others wanting to steal his kill.

"These buttons are really tight! And… and… you don't want me to pop the buttons off, do you?" Dwicky whined in protest. Eventually, he slipped his shirt off and held it out to the teen, his eyes watched mournfully as it was yanked away from his hands.

"Now, that earring." The boy growled.

"But…" Dwicky put a hand to his ear to feel his piercing.

"HEY! Do you want me to fucking cut your ear off?" The boy gritted his teeth and waved the knife once more, his eye twitching violently. "'Cause I will, man. I fucking WILL!"

Dwicky stared, wide eyed and horrified. Damn, the kid really knew how to persuade people. He glanced out the alley, wishing Dib would show up. "Okay… Okay… It is just--"

"I don't want to hear a fucking life story!" The boy's hair flung to the other side as he gave a hard twitch. "Just give me the fucking earring!"

With a nervous swallow, Dwicky slowly started to undo his earring. He pulled it out and held it in his hand for a moment, frowning like a lost puppy as he handed it to him.

The boy grabbed it and smirked, biting at the earring. "Well, sir…" The boy's eye twitched as he looked back up at him with a huge, creepy grin. "Nice doing business with you."

"I can't leave you alone for a minute, can I?" A familiar, very annoyed voice approached the entrance of the alleyway.

"Don't bother with this one, Dib. He has already been cleaned." The orange haired boy gripped the shirt and earring he had stolen from Dwicky.

"Give it back…" Dib narrowed his eyes at the twitchy teen.

"What? I stole it fair and square! You can't take my mugging!" The orange haired boy twitched a moment before he narrowed his eyes. "They are mine now!" He tensed and moved his knife forward a bit.

"Hand the shit over… I'd hate to take it from you…" Dib growled, one hand inside his jacket. Both Dwicky and the strange boy knew that Dib was ready to wield his own weapon.

"Dib… Dib… Buddy. We're pals, right? Yeah." The boy's eyes widened a little, still trying to plead with him. "This is just some random…"

"Don't fucking argue with me…" Dib slowly walked forward, pulling his blade out of his jacket and holding it at his side. "Just give it…"

"No!" The boy was stubborn, and returned to his tense stance. "Never!"

Dwicky just watched the two with wide eyes. His arms wrapped around his naked belly, worried a flying knife might try to disembowel him. Dib moved forward, mere feet away from the other boy. The orange haired kid gave a twitch as he swiped at Dib, leaving a thin slice of flesh and baggy shirt. Dib grunted and grabbed the offending arm, twisting it back and trying to get him to drop his switchblade. The boy grunted and dropped his precious stolen loot in a pile at his feet before he kicked out at the brunette, refusing to let his blade slip from his grip.

Dib grunted and shoved the boy back, letting his blade bite deep into his chest. Dib was a very vengeful boy, cut for a cut. The other recoiled back a bit at the sting that burned across his chest before stumbling forward to land a mean punch to Dib's face. The brunette staggered back, head down slightly as he put a hand to his bleeding lip and ran his tongue out to taste his own blood. His eyes narrowed and he returned with a punch of his own, powered by his building rage. The orange haired boy squealed at the impact on his nose. His blade dropped and he clamped both his hands onto his wounded nose, blood spewing down his chin.

"Don't fucking mess with my shit, Keef." Dib growled and wiped the blood on his fist off onto his already blood stained shirt.

"Your…?" Keef gargled as his nasal cavity surged blood.

"Yes. That's my idiot. Don't fucking mess with him." Dib gestured to Dwicky, who blinked in surprise.

"Since when did you care about anyone, Dib?" Keef's voice lowered and his eyes narrowed, twitching.

"DON'T FUCKING QUESTION ME!" Dib screamed as he pointed his blade mere centimeters from Keef's bloody hands. "DON'T YOU _EVER _ FUCKING QUESTION ME." Dwicky jumped at the sudden outburst.

"Fine." Keef spat a gob of blood to the side. "But watch your back, Dib." He bitterly growled.

Dib twitched a little before bringing a bloodstained fist to punch Keef in the face once more, the other boy crying out as he crippled over from the pain. "Don't you fucking dare try to pull that shit on me. I could kill your sorry ass right now if I fucking wanted to…"

Keef wheezed raggedly as he stumbled to his feet. He said nothing more as he staggered out and disappeared into the crowd.

"Dib…?" Dwicky slowly started. His voice was cautious, the boy was still fuming, and was a bit scary.

"I got stuff… Let's go." Dib sighed and rubbed at the small gash on his chest.

"Alright…" Dwicky could tell by the tone of the teen's voice that he didn't want to talk. So he leaned over to gather up his shirt and earring. He careful returned the earring to its rightful place, smiling to himself as order was restored.

It was evening when they returned to the river from the market. Dib was in an odd mood, and sat atop the old, broken aircraft at the shore of the wide river. He stared at the evening sky, cig burning wisps into the cooling air. Dwicky watched him from the ground. His shirt was back on, but left unbuttoned, his tie hanging out his back pocket. He frowned to himself as he watched the brooding figure above him. Dib leaned back on his hands as the fiery colors of the setting sun slowly melted into dark blues and purples.

"Dib?" Dwicky coughed as he slowly climbed onto a slanted, crumpled wing.

"You need to make yourself useful." Dib mumbled as he watched a dark cloud lazily stretch across the heavens. "I can't exactly take care of you…" He had shared a meal of bread and dried meat with Dwicky on the way back. "Kind of ironic, really…" Dib smirked to himself. "An adult depending on me… Shouldn't it be the other way around?" He turned to look down at Dwicky.

"Yeah. It should… But." He chewed his lip as he struggled to lift himself up on the roof of the aircraft. "The world doesn't seem like it is the way it should be."

"Yeah…" Dib's voice softened.

"Can I ask why you're alone? I noticed a lot of people were with others…" Dwicky asked cautiously as he eyed the boy.

"I've… always been alone." Dib winced. "Even before all this."

"What about your family?" Dwicky was touching sensitive subjects.

Dib simply shrugged his shoulders. "They never paid any attention to me unless I got in their way." He lowered his head a little and let a smooth snake of smoke slither from his lips. "You were the only one…" Dib suddenly turned his back to the man. "The only one who ever really paid attention to me." He paused, his voice suddenly going bitter. "And you saw how that turned out…"

"Dib…" He reached out for the boy, but paused, pulling his hand back a bit. He wanted to hold him, comfort him… what? That wasn't his job. Counselors don't_ touch_ their clients. "I made a terrible mistake…"

"Haven't we all?" Dib's voice was low and defeated once again.

"Can I make it up to you?" Dwicky smiled weakly and nervously pawed for his tie, having forgotten he had taken it off.

"Yeah… You know, a part of me is really angry with you… It hates you. It hates you for leaving me… for not being there when I needed you the most." The boy brushed back the thick lock of hair and sighed a cloud.

Dwicky winced a little.

"But another part of me wants to be with you… It wants things to be like they were before you lied to me." He smirked to himself, though it was a bit on the grim side. "Even if you did lie, you still paid more attention to me than anyone ever cared to." The smirk melted into a sort of wishful smile. "I was so happy then… So happy to have a partner, a friend. It was the best feeling in the world. And…" He turned his head to glance back at Dwicky, glasses glinting in the dim light. "I want that feeling back… and I don't want it to go away."

Dwicky nervously groped at his shirt, fingering one of the holes Dib had planted there earlier. That was just, wow. Dib was really beginning to open up to him. He gave a gentle smile to the other. "Me too…" Though something nagged at the back of his mind, but he suppressed it.

"It's nice not to be alone anymore…" Dib turned his head back to look up at the stars that slowly twinkled into existence on the expanse of sky before them. The stars burned brighter ever since the destruction, they were no longer masked by the glow of electricity.

"Yeah." Dwicky put a hand to his head. So many odd emotions. He wanted to wrap his arms around the boy so badly. He wanted to touch him, to comfort him. He shook his head as the boy suddenly broke the silence.

"I'm going to sleep." Dib announced as he scooted over to the edge of the roof to slip down and into the cockpit of the aircraft.

"Alright. Goodnight, Dib." Dwicky frowned gently, still plagued with himself.

"Goodnight, Dwicky."


	4. Chapter 4

**Shatter: Chapter 4  
**

**Rating**: R  
**Warning**: Well… Uh. Dwicky and Dib huggles. XD  
**Pairing**: DADR (Dwicky and Dib)  
**Summary:** Dwicky has been gone for 6 long years and returns to a world broken by war. There is no more technology, no more order, only the vicious struggles of humans in the fight for survival.

It was dusk. The sky yawned a breath of vivid colors once more before it was but a dull whisper of the growing night. A younger Dib sat atop his roof, watching the sky melt with its daily routine. He smiled softly to himself, the silence was peaceful. The other sounds around him were but a dull drone. Beside him lay his laptop, a half typed document displayed on its bright screen. A few gray clouds whisked past as the darkness began to swallow them from view with starry teeth. The air was deliciously warm and Dib leaned back, basking in the calm.

Dib quirked a brow as the drone of sounds became a bit louder. He blinked and glanced about, but shrugged it off. He let out a sigh and leaned forward to return to his work. His fingers had barely tapped a key when he heard a low whistle far off. It was deep and like the groan of metal. In the distance, he could hear the soft sound of mechanical exhaust, and it puzzled him. Jets? He pulled his hands away from the keys and tensed as he listened to the night. Another whistle, getting louder and louder until--- **BAM**!

Dib was nearly thrown off the roof as a smoldering chunk of machine landed in his backyard, tearing a deep crater into the earth. He was tossed onto his back with a breathless grunt, and nearly deafened by the sound of the crash. It took him a few seconds, but he came to his senses, eyes wide and breath quickened. He scrambled to his feet and over to the edge of the roof to look at the object that had thrown itself into his backyard. It was a flaming, unidentifiable piece of aircraft. Dib stared at it in awe for a moment before he jerked away from the edge of the roof. A new sound filled the air, the sound of sirens screaming into the night. There was a crackle in the distance, followed by a huge explosion. The city, it was under attack. Dib shielded his eyes and hurriedly climbed off the roof. He paused for a moment, remembering his laptop. With a grunt of better judgment, he scrambled back up, retrieved it, and headed inside the kitchen.

"Dad! Gaz!" Dib's voice was dulled by his swift, panicked breath.

There was no answer.

Dib ran out of the kitchen and into the living room. "Dad? Gaz?" His voice had lowered some, but was tinged with the same panic as before.

"Dad isn't here…" An annoyed voice growled from the couch. It was Gaz, playing a handheld videogame as usual.

"Gaz! There are--" Dib stumbled as a loud roar shook the house "explosions!" His mind was dulled by his fear. "I think it might be Zim!"

"Zim?" Gaz raised a brow, not fazed by the loud rumble that caused a few speckles of dust to flit down from the ceiling.

"Yes! We have to find Dad!" Dib gripped his laptop tightly as he pleaded with his sister.

"You know about as much as I do." Gaz rolled her eyes under squinted lids.

"Well." Dib paused as the lights flickered. He glanced about nervously. "It has to be Zim…"

"Will you shut up about that stupid, ugly freak?" Gaz growled as she twitched a bit.

"Gaz! Look outside!" Dib hopped over to the window to pull back the curtains. There were people standing outside their homes, staring at the sky in awe. A few driverless, flaming cars rolled by. The onlookers soon ran screaming as a barrage of thick bullets pelted the street and drove tiny craters into the asphalt.

"So?" Gaz turned her head towards the window.

Dib stared at her in awe before he pulled his expression into a growl. "Come with me!"

"What? No." Gaz turned back to her videogame.

"Gaz. With all the stuff going on out there, we need to stick together." Dib shuddered at the thought, but knew he couldn't handle the guilt of abandoning his little sister, as much as they didn't get along.

"No." Gaz answered simply.

"Come on!" Dib grabbed her wrist and tugged her off the couch.

"Let go of me." The girl shoved her brother away, growling. "Fine… If it'll keep you from grabbing me with your stupid grabby hands."

Dib grunted as he was shoved back into the TV, and it came to life. It was the news. A rather panicked, ruffled lady was speaking quickly, her voice panicked and broken. Her eyes were wide and frightened tears streamed down her face, mixing with her mascara in watery lines. Static flickered throughout the picture and sound. Footage of strange aircraft firing strange, deadly missiles filled the screen. Explosions. Screaming. Pure chaos. The reporter's voice was nothing but a mummer in Dib's mind. His gaze was locked on the destruction before him. Suddenly, it cut off, and with a loud, electric groan, the power went out.

"Great. No power." Gaz hissed to herself, at least her game was battery powered.

"Zim…" Dib swallowed dryly. "I know those… those things… But… So many of them!" He knew he was talking to himself, Gaz never listened to him. No one did, for that matter. Well, one person did… But that person…

"So, what now, genius?" Gaz's tone was bitter as she interrupted Dib's thought.

"Let's go… If Zim is out destroying the city, then his base is unsupervised, and with the power out… We may be able to break in." Dib hurried over to the front door and opened it, cringing at the scene before him. So much chaos, so much fire, so much destruction.

"Ugh…" Gaz just grunted as she reluctantly followed her brother out.

The venture to the alien's house was, to say the least, dangerous. The two had to dodge screaming, fleeing people and the occasional rain of attack from invisible crafts above them. The darkness swallowed the crafts' identities, though an occasional odd shape could be made out when one flew too low to the flash of an explosion. It was odd; there were many of the strange attackers. Were they automated? Or perhaps had Zim's horrible kin come to destroy Earth? Dib shuddered as they finally made their way to the alien's house. Dib ran to the front door as Gaz stayed by the gate, leaning on it and inwardly rolling her eyes at her stupid brother.

Dib glanced nervously at the lifeless robotic gnomes. Without the city's power, there would be nothing to power them; nothing for the huge tubes of Zim's house to leech. He cautiously opened the door, slowly. He peeked inside, no one. He grinned to himself as he triumphantly let himself inside, walking to the middle of the room and looking around. Now that he was in, he had to figure out where—the sudden slam of the door startled Dib from his thought.

"Gaz?" Dib quickly turned towards the door.

"What are you doing here, Dib-stink?" A low voice growled from above.

"Zim?" Dib glanced up, and then narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing…?" He shook his head and pointed an accusing finger up at him. "What is all this, Zim!" He then lowered the hand to point in the direction of the door. "What the hell is going on out there?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, worm." There was a clatter of metal spider legs against metal tubes as Zim shifted to the other side of the room. "Zim has nothing to do with this."

"You lie! It... It has to be some kind of preprogrammed robots flying those--" Dib pulled his hands back to twitch in front of himself, gripping inwardly, trying to find the words.

"Do you really think ZIM would be in his home, NOT watching the glorious destruction of earth?" Zim lowered himself by long, spidery robotic arms. They whipped back into his pak when he soundlessly touched down on the ground.

"Uh. Well…" He had him there. Dib lowered his arms and raised a hand, tapping with his index finger, trying to think.

"No! None of this is ZIM!" The alien's gloves squeaked as he clenched them. "No… I was in my lab, working on very important things when the power cut off… HOW DARE SOMEONE ELSE TRY TO DESTROY EARTH!" One eye glared widely at the human as the other snapped shut.

"Someone else?" Dib raised a brow. "Like your filthy race?"

Zim twitched and moved over to Dib, shoving him down for such a comment. "No, stupid monkey. This planet isn't," the invader twitched and gritted his teeth "WASN'T ready for the Armada… No. This isn't the work of the amazing ZIM or his amazing race!"

Dib fell back with a grunt and didn't bother standing. "But the weapons… the aircraft they look so…"

"Stolen…" Zim's voice lowered to a voice so angry, so filled to the brim with malice that even the most evil of men would shudder. His glare was equally frightful.

"Stolen?" Dib suddenly tensed.

"Yes! That is," Zim paused a moment before he felt his statement was valid "_Irken_ technology. Well, borrowed from other conquered races, but WE MADE IT BETTER!"

Dib suddenly felt sick. He swayed a bit and put his hand to his stomach. "I need to go…" He mumbled to himself as he stumbled to a stand.

"Hey! HEY! Don't release your filthy belly slop on Zim's floor!" Zim snapped as Dib looked as if he would vomit. "Yes. Leave. Leave! Go!" He growled as he turned his back to Dib, disappearing into the darkness of the kitchen.

Dib staggered out of the Irken's house. He put a hand to his head. It hurt. It hurt so bad. He bowed his head forward a bit, body crumpling. He closed his eyes for a moment, wincing at the pain that gnashed about in the pit of his stomach. With a soft groan, he lifted his head up. Gaz was gone. His body tensed, the odd, agonizing feeling forgotten. He quickly walked to the end of the yard, looking about. The cul-de-sac was empty, fires were dying down. With a sigh of defeat, he left. The feeling soon returned with a vengeance, the horrible, horrible feeling. So he walked, no where in particular, he just had to go… somewhere.

Dib glanced up at the night sky longingly. If only he could leave, like _he_ did. Something stung at the boy's eye and he pressed a finger to it… A tear. He clenched his fist and shook his head, refusing to reduce himself to this. How could he just sit there and cry like a baby as the world around him was decimated? How could he not try to do something? The questions lashed out at him, like bladed whips. He winced, and broke into a run. His hands gripped his head, but there was no escaping from his mind.

Eventually, Dib ran out of breath and dropped to his knees, panting. He glanced about. He was in a field. _That _ field. He sucked in a quick breath before he closed his eyes, moving a hand up to pinch away the stubborn tears with shaky fingertips. Something was bothering him. Something dark, something he couldn't admit to himself, and it left him feeling empty. He sighed and looked up to the sky, it was slightly masked by dark smoke. He was out there, somewhere. Dib bit his lip and looked back down at the ground, the grass was slightly charred.

"Damn it…" Dib slumped over to his side. His body drained. The strange emotion from before had completely hollowed him out, leaving nothing but a bitter nil. The grass was slightly cool, though, against his cheek, and he closed his eyes, begging his mind to drift off into other things.

The cool touch of the grass slowly became hot, and slightly damp. The smell of fire and chaos melted into the soft scent of musk. Dib shifted, the ground was hard and the grass was gone. It had hardened into a flat, rusty, cool surface. Dib's hand twitched and gripped at what was once grass, but now something that felt like fabric. Confused, Dib opened an eye, only to be met with a chest. Startled, he opened both eyes wide. He was face to face with someone's chest, partially exposed skin, partially a white shirt. He slowly moved his head, the skin of his cheek was sticky against the slightly sweaty flesh of the other.

It took him a moment to register the situation. His arms were wrapped around the other body, hands gripping the fabric of the loose shirt. He glanced down, one leg was swung up and over the other's hip. His eyes then moved up, a slightly scritchy chin was rested against the top of his head. It was so hot, the air sizzled outside from the heat of midday sun. It made the closeness of the two bodies all the more… sweaty. Color suddenly rose from Dib as he awkwardly jerked away, tripping over himself in the process, landing on his rump as he let out a bothered huff.

"What the hell!" He pointed an accusing finger at the still sleeping Dwicky.

Dwicky twitched and grunted before he curled forward slightly, an arm moving over his eyes. "Nnnghh…. Eh?" It took him a moment, but he finally moved his arm, glancing at the boy with groggy eyes. "Eh, what happened? What's wrong?" He licked his dry lips.

"You were… We were…" Dib twitched a little. "How could you do that!"

"Huh?" Dwicky blinked dumbly before he frowned. "I didn't do anything. You fell asleep over there." He pointed to the other side of the plane. "And I fell asleep here." He tapped the metal floor in front of him.

"I would never…" Dib twitched, scooting back a little, quickly turning his back to Dwicky to put a hand over his face. He could feel the burning color that still lingered.

"You must have had a terrible nightmare…" Dwicky's voice was soft and gentle. "You kept shaking, and mumbling things."

"Yeah… I…" He paused and growled. "I probably, uh. Was…" He couldn't think of an excuse.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Dwicky cautiously asked.

Dib winced, eyes closing, the memory of the terrible realization in his dream nipping at him. "I… No. No I don't." His voice cracked a little.

"Are you sure? It might make you feel better." Dwicky slowly sat up, wiping a few beads of sweat from his brow. Damn, it was hot.

"I'm sure, Dwicky." Dib's voice was low and dangerous. "It is none of your business, anyway."

"You know, Dib, it isn't good to keep things bottled up." The man watched the boy's back with a frown.

Dib shook for a moment before he slowly turned to look at Dwicky with glazed eyes. "Zim didn't do it…"

"Didn't do what?" Dwicky's voice was soft, as if afraid of frightening off a small animal.

"The destruction… Everything… It wasn't him." Slowly, Dib turned a little more before he pulled his legs up to his chest, hugging them as he watched Dwicky with mournful eyes.

"Who was it?"

"Us…" Dib's voice was barely above a whisper, his eyes staring through the man.

"Us?" Dwicky tilted his head a little.

"Humans. People." Dib's eyes lowered to the ground, to an interesting piece of scrap metal in the corner. "You see… after you left… there were a few… arguments." Dib struggled to pick his words.

Dwicky's shoulders slumped a little, he already missed the feeling of holding the boy in his arms. He wanted so badly to hold him once more.

"And so many of them… So many… gained access to weapons." Dib swallowed nervously. "Super weapons." He gave a weak smirk. "And we destroyed ourselves. Everything. We left the world a shell. Who would have thought we'd be our own downfall? Eminent, I suppose… But…" Dib's smirk fell into a blank expression. "Kind of odd to see the plants and animals grow and live. They picked up their lives so easily… But us…" The boy's eyes narrowed. "The human race is like cockroaches now…"

"Ah… Dib…" Dwicky leaned forward a little before he pulled back slightly.

"Dwicky?" Glazed brown eyes rose to meet blue. "Have you ever felt regret?"

"Yeah." He guiltily put a hand to his neck, rubbing. "A lot."

Dib's body shuddered as he bit a lip, unable to finish his thought. Slowly, he leaned forward, half crawling towards the man before he wrapped his arms around him tightly, face buried into the fabric of Dwicky's shirt. The man made a surprised noise as the boy latched onto him, but his expression softened and he lowered a hand to pet the teen's hair before he wrapped his arms around him. Dib shuddered gently, his breath ragged and shaky. Dwicky frowned at the damp that grew where the boy's face touched his shirt and he tightened his hold on the boy.

"Please don't leave me again…" Dib weakly whispered.


	5. Chapter 5

**Shatter: Chapter 5**

**  
Rating**: R  
**Warning**: Language. Male/Male kissing.  
**Pairing**: DADR (Dwicky and Dib)  
**Summary:** Dwicky has been gone for 6 long years and returns to a world broken by war. There is no more technology, no more order, only the vicious struggles of humans in the fight for survival.

So hot. So mind numbingly hot.

Dwicky leaned back a little, his thin shirt uncomfortably sticking to him and he made a slight face. Oh how he missed air conditioning, glorious, glorious air conditioning. He stuck his tongue out a little as his eyes lazily dragged over to the river. After their little 'moment', Dib had rushed off to calm his nerves in the cool water of the river. So Dwicky was left to sit, alone, on a large dusty rock that rose up a little from the smaller stones of the shore. His legs were sprawled over the edge and swung lightly. He listened to the cicadas chirping in the distance, the little song makers praised the sun for its gift of heat.

Dwicky's mind didn't stay focused on the heat, oh no. His mind, and eyes, were on the bare body of the teenage boy bathing in the river. Dib kept his back to the older man, still upset about earlier. His depression had crackled into bitter, angry emotions. The boy hated crying, especially in front of others. There was no room for tears in this world. Tears did nothing. They were nothing more than a weakness. He splashed cold water on his sweaty body, rubbing the scabbed wound on his chest, hoping it would cool his mood, but alas, too much was suppressed.

Dib kept the lanky appearance he had as a child, but it was reinforced by years of dangerous living. Bruises, scabs, and thin scars speckled his soft, milky white flesh. Dwicky couldn't help but stare, his eyes running over every curve of muscle, every rise of bone, every blemish of flaw that marked the teen. His eyes ran down the curve of spine before they rested on a firm rump. Dwicky glanced to the side for a moment, blush creeping to his features. Guilt tapped at the back of his mind. He shouldn't be staring at such a smooth, perfectly grope-able— What! He had turned to look again. Nervously, Dwicky bit his lip, deciding his own conscience was too fuddled for his eyes to wander so low.

Dib suddenly turned and Dwicky quickly looked away, at anything… Trees, they seemed pretty, tall and—the man glanced back at the boy. The expression on the teen's face was enough to have him nervously glancing away again. Dib raised a brow at the other before he sighed and rolled his eyes. He made his way to shore, walking swiftly past Dwicky, who followed the boy with his eyes. Dib stopped at the same log he had always used for his clothes and began to tug them on. First, his shirt, which tugged his glasses down to the tip of his nose as he pulled it on. Fingertips brushed up to press the frames back to their rightful place as he leaned over to pick up his pants, hopping on one leg, then another as he pulled them up and buckled them. After he had fully dressed himself, Dib turned to look at the other.

"I have to go. Can I please… please… leave you alone in the middle of nowhere?" The boy put a hand to his forehead, kneading a small knot of stress. "No one ever really comes around here… You couldn't possibly get into trouble, right? Right?" It seemed as if he was trying to convince himself. "I won't be gone long…"

"Ah. Sure." The man had quickly snapped his eyes to meet the other's, not wanting him to know he had been watching him dress—in slow motion. The fact lashed out at Dwicky again. _He is just a kid, a teenager, but a kid nonetheless_! After his mental scolding, Dwicky blinked. "Where are you going?"

"Kinda like yesterday…" Dib looked to the side, as if a small bird hopping along the small stones of the shore was the most interesting thing in the world.

"What did you do yesterday?" Dwicky glanced at the bird a second before returning to Dib.

"None of your business." The boy snorted and narrowed his eyes. "Just don't get yourself into any trouble." He leaned over and began to put on a boot.

"Ah. I won't. I promise." Dwicky grinned sincerely.

"Ehh…" The boy returned the bright, cheery expression with an unamused grimace. "I don't have much of a choice…" Another boot.

"Well… I." Dwicky's grin faded into a thoughtful expression. "I'll stay here… And I won't get lost or anything. I'll stay right here." He tapped an index finger onto the rock to empathize his point.

"Whatever. Doesn't matter either way. With you gone, I wouldn't have to worry about anything anymore…" Dib narrowed his eyes and growled as he picked up his jacket and turned quickly to disappear into the forest and head towards the city.

Dwicky stared after him for a few moments. The comment hurt, a lot. He sighed and put a hand to his head, gripping his dark hair. The anger, the pain that glinted in those young eyes; Dwicky winced. He knew he had put some of it there. The man let out a soft sigh, looking around at the peace that surrounded him. Beside the junk, the melting rust, the slimy rot of manmade items, it was rather beautiful. The world was healing. He slowly frowned and glanced towards the direction of the city, barely viewable over the arch of trees. Everything was healing but the people.

With another sigh, he rose to his feet, dusting off his pants. It would be terribly boring to wait for the boy, and a part of him wondered if he would even come back. So much anger. He shuddered at the memory and stuck out a tongue. How depressing. Dwicky stuck his hands into his pockets as he rolled on his heels. He had promised not to leave, but it was hot. And he highly doubted the boy would care if he stretched his legs a bit. He wasn't _that_ anal. With that, he hopped off the large stone, swaying a little to regain his balance as he landed.

Dib had said Dwicky needed to make himself useful. The man made a face. Elementary Skool Counselor. What a real useful thing that was now. He slumped his shoulders and sighed. Really should have paid attention to boy scouts. At least then he would know how to… build fires, or sell cookies—Wait. No, that was girl scouts. With a roll of his eyes at himself, Dwicky headed over to where an old refrigerator, on its side, lay half embedded into the ground. It sat by the edge of the forest, and his shoes crunched and clacked the small stones beneath him before he stopped. A few weeds grew around it, and a handful of odd bugs skittered around itself surface. Dwicky pulled his hands out of his pockets and leaned over to get a closer look at the tiny beings.

A spindly spider crept up the side of the yellowed fridge, moving slow and cautiously. Upon noticing it, Dwicky jerked back a little. The arachnid stalked across the surface, searching. Dwicky's eyes moved to a rich little dot that pattered just as slowly. At a closer glance, it was a ladybug. The man blinked as he leaned forward a bit, but was sure to scoot away from the creepy spider. The tiny insect skittered about in an odd pattern, small legs soundless tapping against the shaded, dirty surface of the refrigerator. Dwicky's eyes snapped back to the spider, it had stopped, as if waiting. The ladybug was slowly making its way towards the predator. The spider raised two legs, preparing to strike. With a nervous shudder, Dwicky put a finger down in front of the little lady bug, and it crawled on him. He pulled it back and away from the spider, which slowly lowered its legs in what must have been disappointment.

The little ladybug crawled down Dwicky's finger, across the back of his hand, along his palm, and then back to tips of another finger. The man curved his hand as he watched the tiny creature mindless wander across. He smiled to himself at the simplicity of it all. Eventually, the ladybug felt it had had enough and crawled with tickly tiptoes, to the man's fingertip. It lifted its shell and spread transparent wings before it buzzed off and away. Dwicky gave a smooth smile as he watched it flit away. His content expression wouldn't last, though.

A sudden explosion in the distance nearly knocked the man off his feet. The sound roared through the air for a few seconds, before it was but a dull buzz. The noisy birds had silenced, but slowly returned to their song, as if nothing odd had happened. Dwicky, however, was still shaken and blinked in the direction of the explosion. A tendril of smoke snaked into the air from the woods and the man raised a brow. Curiosity attacked full force and Dwicky reached for his tie, to nervously straighten it, but, alas, it was still hanging out his back pocket, so all he grabbed was air. He had made a promise, but what if it was Dib? No. It couldn't have been, the boy had gone the opposite direction.

Against better judgment, Dwicky slowly began to walk straight towards the smoke. It was a rather short walk, and the cool of the forest was rather refreshing compared to the merciless heat of the sun. He let out a huff of a relief, but soon quieted himself as he came to a rather damaged clearing. It appeared to be a crater about the size of a house, only made worse by the recent explosion. A pile of metal and smoking machinery lay beside a… dull green child. He was about the size of an older elementary school student. About the top of the boy's head was a battered, deep red bandana, from which two stiff locks of 'hair' lay limp out the back. He wore goggles with deep green straps and large dark orange lens. Attached to his back was an odd backpack, a curve of dark gray and red metal. He wore no shirt, but wrapped around his waist, in a sort of sarong fashion, was what once must have been a long shirt. It was a deep, well worn red. Beneath that, he wore tight black pants that disappeared into dusty black boots.

"Useless… USELESS HUMAN TECHNOLOGY!" The boy clenched a dusty, black, gloved fist as he kicked at a scrap of metal and wiped condensed smoke off his face from the earlier explosion. "When this minor inconvenience is corrected… They will face the wrath that is ZIM!"

Dwicky raised his brow at the boy and his sudden outburst.

"Filthy monkeys… I should have realized they would be so stupid as to destroy… EVERYTHING!" He growled to himself, giving another swift kick to a small piece of metal.

"Ack!" Dwicky couldn't help but let out a noise as the metal whizzed past his head, and he stumbled to the side.

"Eh? Who is there? Answer Zim!" The Irken pointed towards the sound, eyes narrowed behind his goggles.

"Uhh…" Dwicky nervously edged towards the clearing of the crater. He probably should have booked it, but instead he gave the boy a grin of sorts, rubbing the back of his neck. "I just heard an explosion and…"

"Oh." Zim stared at the man, unimpressed. "You are no threat to Zim." He turned his head to the side and waved a hand at him. "Run along little human. Nothing to see here."

"Ah. What exploded?" Dwicky glanced over at the still smoldering pile.

"NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" The alien hopped between the metal and the man, trying to block his view, but failed due to his short height.

"Sorry." Dwicky bit a lip. "Ah. Hey. Aren't you Dib's friend? The alien?" The fact had just come to his attention. It had been so long, he nearly forgot.

Unseen, one of Zim's eyes twitched. "No." His voice growled deep. "I am just a victim of the horrible radiation." He put a hand to his face, feeling his lack of nose and ears. "Terrible, really."

"But… I saw you that night…" Dwicky raised a brow down at the angry little Irken.

"You saw nothing! NOTHING!" A serpentine tongue whipped out as he yelled.

"I did. I even left with the Plookesians…"

"Ugh. Plookesians…" Zim groaned before he waved a dismissive hand, it took too much effort to deny, and was useless, considering all the man had seen. This filthy human was just as bad as the Dib. "Leave Zim."

"I…" Dwicky stopped himself and sighed, starting to walk backwards to return to where he had promised to be.

"I thought you said you wouldn't move?" Dib raised a brow as Dwicky bumped into him.

"Ah. Dib. I didn't think you'd be back so soon." The man gave a nervous grin.

"DIB-WORM!" The Irken lashed a finger at the teen. "This is your fault!" He whipped the finger back to point at the unidentifiable pile of junk.

"Shut the fuck up, Zim…" Dib's eyes narrowed as he folded his arms, though he had a bit of an uneasy sway about him. "I didn't do anything. Not my fault you're a lousy--"

"You know what I mean…" The Irken's voice simmered low and angry.

"No…" The boy kept his annoyed glare, trying to hide the slight falter in his demeanor.

"What's he talking about?" Dwicky rose a brow, looking between the two.

"Why don't you ask the stupid monkey yourself?" Metallic spidery limbs unfolded from the Irken's pak, pulling and placing recoverables from the pile into the depths of the seemingly bottomless pak.

"Zim is just crazy from all the years without his alien technology." Dib shrugged and looked off to the side.

"You'd know a lot about that, wouldn't you?" Zim grumbled before he raised his voice. "BECAUSE OF YOU FILTHY HUMANS, ZIM IS STUCK HERE!" He twitched as he clenched his fists. "Stupid, stupid meatsacks."

"Kind of sad to see an alien invader stuck on a destroyed planet, just as well off as the people he couldn't even conquer." Dib gave a sly smirk, knowing it would get under Zim's skin.

"When I rebuild… Dibfilth…" Zim growled, his small body twitching with rage.

"Oh? Typical, Zim. Real typical. You're nothing without your equipment." Dib smirked, glasses glinting in the heat of the clearing.

"You dare tempt the wrath of ZIM?" The Irken turned to look over his shoulder at the boy, voice low and dangerous.

"Yeah. I do." Dib let out a cruel purr.

"Now boys…" Dwicky lifted up his hands, suddenly feeling like a school teacher watching over a recess squabble.

"Shut up!" Dib and Zim screamed in unison.

"Ah… Okay… Okay…" Dwicky retreated to the side.

"Argh… Stupid human scum…" Zim turned and rose up on spidery legs.

"You have no one to blame but yourself." Dib reached a hand into his jacket, ready to pull his weapon.

"Oh? Do I?" Zim glared as he skittered to the other side of the clearing.

"Yep." Dib followed the alien's movements with his eyes. "It was your own technology."

"AND YOUR OWN STUPID SPECIES!" An angry finger pointed at Dib as thick antennae twitched under the bandana. "You don't have any hold on this argument, Dib-beast." He hiss as he lashed out a spidery leg.

Dib mentally faltered, but quickly hopped to the side as he dodged the spidery leg, whipping out his blade and standing in a ready, defensive stance. A part of him, a horrible feeling, knew that the alien was right. "One would think such a 'superior' species would have better security measures."

"A minor mistake." Zim refused to admit that it led to the eventual destruction of all civilization on the planet, as well as his base.

"Yeah. Minor. Now you're nothing but a helpless insect." Dib kept his glare, his muscles twitching gently. "A helpless cockroach, scurrying around blindly, like the humans… You're no better…"

"ZIM WILL NOT TOLERATE SUCH ORAL FILTH!" He suddenly rushed forward and lunged for him, whipping a metallic leg to slap the blade from the boy's hand. He shoved Dib back and pinned him to the ground, metal legs pressing back his arms and legs as he wrapped his gloved hands around the boy's throat. Dwicky jerked back at the sudden movements, only able to stare at the two.

Dib only grunted as he was forced back, glaring at the alien as he lay there, claws digging into his neck. "Face it, Zim…" He hissed.

"Face it? FACE IT! I am a great Irken INVADER!" His voice dripped malice. "And you ruined that…"

"Humans…" Dib gasped between the angered squeezings, struggling against the sharp metal that bit at his wrists. His instinct to put his hands to his neck, and struggled against the hold of the spider legs.

"No… You. YOU!" Zim lifted the boy's head up a bit just to slam it back down onto the ground.

"You're crazy, Zim…" The glare remained on the boy's face, but softened near the edges, that horrible feeling returning.

"Oh poor, poor, pitiful Dibmeat." The Irken's scowl twitched into a sort of grin. "In denial, are you?" He let out a small cackle.

Dib swallowed nervously, the grip on his neck had loosened a bit. "I…"

Zim smacked Dib's face, leaving the boy's glasses askew. "Do we want to talk about irony, hmmm? Oh yes, Dibwretch. HA HA at Zim all you want, but don't forget what… you did…"

"I didn't mean for it to end up like this…" Dib looked away to the side.

"BUT IT DID!" Zim shook the boy by the neck, slamming his head back into the hard dirt. "And now look! Look at all this…" He stuck out a tongue, shuddering with disgust before he narrowed his eyes.

"Go ahead, scum. But no matter what, your stupid plan has been ruined." Dib spat in the Irken's face.

"Yes, yes…" Zim wiped the spit from his cheek. "All thanks to you and your destruction of your own race. Nice job, soldier. You sure did save earth. It is a MUCH better place thanks to you." The alien grinned at the pained remorse and guilt that began to eat away at the boy. "Now… I will kill you…" Strong claws tightened around the boy's neck, and the teen gasped for air, completely helpless.

**CLANG**. The Irken suddenly fell limp the side, allowing Dib to sit up, blinking. Behind him stood a startled Dwicky. He gave a nervous grin and waved at the boy, his other hand holding a metal pipe. He let it hang loosely in his grip as he held a hand out to Dib.

"Uhh…" Dib was at a loss of words as he stared at Dwicky and shoved the unconscious alien off of himself.

"I was in little league!" Dwicky replied with a cheery in-case-you-were-wondering voice.

"We should get going, before he wakes up." Dib rubbed his neck as he slowly took the hand. He refused to meet Dwicky's eyes as he stood.

"I agree… He seemed pretty spooky…" Dwicky blinked at the fact that the boy didn't let go of his hand, even after he had stood.

"Yeah… Well…" Dib coughed, noticing they were still touching hands and he quickly turned to retrieve his blade, tucking it away into his jacket. "Let's go…" With that, he began to walk into the woods.

Dwicky hurried after him, still carrying the lightly rusted pipe. He didn't know when and if he would have to use it again. After a few moments of silence, he spoke up. "So what Zim said...?"

"Please don't…" The boy seemed to have attempted an angry voice, but it just came out weak and defeated.

"Hey… You know it isn't good to keep stuff like that bottled up. Especially things that big." The man reached out for the boy, placing an unsteady hand on his shoulder.

"Things that big? Things that big!" Dib suddenly whipped around to face the man. "I fucking caused the destruction of earth as we know it!"

Dwicky winced a little. "What exactly happened?"

"I didn't do much! I just… But… catalyst." The boy's thoughts were jumbled. "I stole plans from Zim… And, well, let's just say some bad people got a hold of them… Lots of people."

"Then it really wasn't your fault… Was it? Not really." Dwicky tapped his chin with his free hand.

"Humans… People… If you give them the chance, they'll take it. I gave them proof, and they saw it as just another tool for their hate of each other." Dib clenched his fist and twitched a little.

"Dib… You just wanted to prove that aliens existed, right?" Dwicky smiled weakly, rubbing his free hand against the other.

"Yes."

"So… Why are you to blame what people did with it?" The man gave a reassuring smile.

"Because…" The boy twitched with anger, suddenly lashing out and grabbing the man by the collar of his open shirt. "Because, Dwicky…" He growled the word as he slammed the man against a nearby tree. "My own selfish desperation for someone, anyone to believe me drove me to supply the world with its own downfall…"

Dwicky grunted as he was forced back, giving no resistance. "But…"

"NO! YOU WERE THE ONLY ONE, DWICKY!" Dib screamed in his face, twisting the fabric between his fingers. "You left me… You were the only one, and you fucking left me! Just one person, just a single person. That would have been enough…"

"Dib…" The man's expression softened.

"I hate you…" He hissed, glaring death into the man's eyes. "I hate what you left me as…"

"But I'm here now…" The reply was weak.

"So? So fucking what! You were gone!" Dib slammed the man back into the tree again, holding him there. "You can't take back those years. You can't ever take it back."

"Dib… We can't change what happened…"

"It shouldn't have turned out like this…" Slowly, Dib's gaze dropped down and away, off to the side. "Things would have been so different…" His hands shook as he leaned his head forward, burying his face into the man's shoulder.

Dwicky lifted a hand to gently touch his fingertips to the boy's hair, cautiously, as if he would snap at him. But the teen didn't, and he kept his hand there. "When things are at their worst, they can only get better… I made mistakes, we all have… But will you let me try to fix them? I don't want things to stay like this…"

"Shut up…" Dib grumbled into the man's shoulder.

"Dib…" Dwicky pleaded gently.

"I fucking said shut up." Suddenly the boy pulled up, silencing the man with his lips.

"Mff!" Dwicky's eyes widened as the teen's lips pressed against his own. His hand twitched and fell to his side. He was completely shocked by the sudden action.

Dib pressed closer, hands still gripped at the other's collar. The soft tip of tongue flicked out at the older man's lips, impatiently demanding he react. After a moment of fighting his inner demons, Dwicky gave in. His eyes closed as he parted his lips slightly, the tip of his own tongue gently accepting the boy's. Slowly, the pipe slid from his hand as he moved to wrap his arms around the boy's waist, pulling him closer, if at all possible. Dib tilted his head to the side a bit to deepen their kiss, mouth opening wider to accept the more reluctant, but steadily more willing, tongue. The kiss was shortened as Dib pulled away a little with a huff, lowering his head a bit, lips gently kissing the man's chin before he yanked him back down for another deep kiss.

Dwicky's hands were forgotten, left to their own thoughts as one slid to run over the boy's rump. The muscle tensed slightly as the man groped one of the boy's cheeks through the jacket. Dib made a slight noise and pressed closer, grinding their hot bodies together. The kiss was rough, wanting, needing, as the two tongues viciously fought. Dib's hands slipped down and pressed against the tree on either side of Dwicky. The rough bark against Dwicky's back was unnoticed as the teen passionately pressed against him. Suddenly Dib pulled away, breath hot and bothered.

"I…" He felt a need to explain himself, staring at the man with half confused, half aroused eyes. Dwicky just smiled weakly, his hands still resting against the boy's rump. "Oh. Fuck it." He attacked the man's lips with his own once more, with a kiss just as rough and passionate as before.


	6. Chapter 6

**Shatter: Chapter 6  
**

**Rating **: R  
**Warning **: Language. MalexMale kiss.  
**Pairing**: DADR (Dwicky and Dib)  
**Summary:** Dwicky has been gone for 6 long years and returns to a world broken by war. There is no more technology, no more order, only the vicious struggles of humans in the fight for survival.

Tiny dancers of flame leapt and crackled in a small campfire cradled by a little circle of piled river stones. It was night, the stars sparkling down with defiant brilliance. Insects and the beasts of the night gently sang their love of the dark. Dib sat hunched over on a rather large stone. He stared into the small fire, occasionally ripping off a slice of wood with his knife from a pile of sticks at his feet. His expression was odd, a mix of anger and… something else. Dwicky sat across from the boy, avoiding his gaze. He felt incredibly awkward as the dark brown eyes would occasionally rise to meet his own with chilling intensity. The man had buttoned up his shirt a while ago, and placed his tie in its rightful place. Something about the little 'ordeal' in the woods made Dwicky terribly modest. The silence hung heavy in the air, only making things unbearably awkward.

"Do you think he'll come after us?" Dwicky broke the silence, hands fiddling with his tie.

"No. You saw how helpless he was without his shit…" Dib sliced off a chunk of wood and tossed it into the fire.

"He almost strangled you." Dwicky's eyes moved to watch the wood tremble onto itself as the fire consumed it.

"I was… distracted." Dib grumbled off to the side, not wanting to look the man in the eyes.

"Well… Distracted or not, he could have killed you."

"He isn't going to come looking for me, Dwicky. It has been like this for years." Dib sighed, his tone laced with irritation. "Of course, like you'd know…"

"That's not very fair, Dib." Dwicky stuck out a lip.

"Not very fair?" Dark, narrow eyes shot up. "Do you want to talk about fair, Dwicky?"

"You're not going to ever forgive me, are you?" Dwicky's shoulders slumped back a little. "I thought that maybe you had, just a little… because of--"

"Let's not talk about that!" Dib jerked as his blade bit into his hand a little, a tiny swell of blood lining the small cut. "Fuck." He hissed and brought his hand to his mouth, sucking the pain away.

"Dib. We really should talk about it. It is kind of important…" Dwicky moved a hand back to rub his neck nervously as he glanced across the fire. "Are you just going to ignore it?"

"Ugh. You and your 'talk'." Dib rolled his eyes and pulled his hand away from his mouth. "You want to talk? Fine." Dib leaned back a little and his chest puffed out a bit. "Let's talk then. You want to talk about how I forced my old skool counselor against a tree and then proceeded to roughly make out with him while he fondled and groped my ass?"

Dwicky coughed nervously. "Sounds kind of… odd… when you put it that way."

"Could I have said it any other way?" A brow rose behind a glint of glasses.

"No. I suppose not." Dwicky nervously swallowed and looked away. "But, well, you kind of…" Dwicky clicked his tongue against his teeth and squint an eye as he tried to find the proper way to word everything, "… pulled me into it. Or, shoved, rather."

Dib lowered his gaze to his blade, watching the soft reflective glow of the fire along its surface. "Did I?" He reached into the depths of his jack and pulled out a cig, soon lighting it and pulling the sweet smoke into his lungs. "Or did you?"

Dwicky raised a suspicious brow. "You're referring to…"

"Yes." Dib glanced up at the heavens as he blew a cloud of smoke into the night. "Do you have a thing for little boys?"

"Dib." Dwicky coughed into his hand. "I was merely doing my job. I was playing along."

"The taste of your tongue says otherwise…" Dib licked his lips.

"You're not exactly a kid anymore." Hands tightened and twisted the poor abused tie.

"Oh? I'm not?" Dib smirked as he took a drag. "If things were," Dib paused and closed his eyes a moment, "like they were, then you'd have some very concerned government officials on your hands." Brown eyes snapped open to glare at nervous blue. "I suppose you should be glad your tongue was the only thing you put inside of me." A grin tugged at the boy's lips.

"Are you just trying to make me uncomfortable?" Dwicky raised a brow.

"Dwicky. A 'normal' grown man would've pushed me away." Dib spat.

"And a 'normal' teenager wouldn't have pinned me against a tree and made out with me." Dwicky shot back. "You made the first move, Dib."

"I--" Dib awkwardly paused, his cigarette hanging on his slightly gaping lip.

"Dib. I don't like how you keep making me out to be the bad guy." Dwicky sighed and frowned over at the boy. "Have you ever thought that you wanted it---" Dwicky paused and coughed, "too?" He straightened a little, giving Dib a weak, encouraging smile. "You were a lonely kid who just wanted someone to believe you…" He reached back to nervously rub his neck. "Kind of reminds me of a younger me… A _much_ younger me." Another nervous cough.

"Maybe…" Dib distracted himself with his knife again. "Maybe I did develop a bit of a… crush… for the first person who I thought believed me." He rubbed the side of his arm. "And…" Suddenly, he glared over at Dwicky, not liking the emotions the conversation was stirring. "I was desperate, okay?"

"I can understand why you'd be." Dwicky kept his soft smile. "Err… You didn't have many friends and--"

"Any. I didn't have any." Dib bitterly interrupted and corrected the man.

"Any… But as I was saying." Dwicky coughed. "Sometimes, when people are so alone, they'll grasp out at the first sign of acceptance. And sometimes it can develop to… romantic feelings." He suddenly felt incredibly awkward, as if explaining the act of baby-making.

"And what about you, Mister Dwicky?" Dib studied the man's expression, his eyes thoughtful.

"Me? Well…" His hands settled themselves on his knees as he shifted. "I guess it is a mix of several things."

"Several things?" Though the boy's voice was inquisitive, a small smirk revealed otherwise.

"I'm not perfect, Dib. I'm human, just like you." Dwicky sighed, as if bearing a heavy burden. "I have—ah. Well." The poor man struggled with his words. "I have desires, as I'm sure you can understand."

"Hmm… Desires." Dib's voice was dull as he took a drag. "Desires for little boys?"

"One." Color flushed Dwicky's face.

Dib raised a brow at that, suspicion rising. "So what happens when that little boy grows up?" Dib licked his lips and pulled the cig away from his mouth, tapping the ashes onto the stones below. "What happens when the sweet, supple little boy grows into a man?" Eyes narrowed down at the fire. "What happens when that little boy changes into something else? Someone else?"

"He can't change who he is…" Dwicky watched with worried eyes.

"But the world can." Dib glanced up, catching the man's eyes with his own, locking him in a glare.

"Dib…" Dwicky started.

The boy suddenly stood, moving over to Dwicky, staring down at him. "Shut up. You fucking hurt me, Dwicky. And I'm not going to easily forgive you, you know that." He suddenly reached out and grabbed the man by the collar, violently lifting him up. Dwicky made a noise and grabbed at the boy's wrist. "But I'm not going to let you leave me ever again." He turned his head to take a drag of his cig before he roughly pulled the man into a hard kiss.

"Mrff!" Dwicky was taken by complete surprise as the boy's tongue invaded his mouth.

"Dib? Is that you?" There was a snap of twigs and the parting of branches from the forest beside them.

"What?" Dib grunted as he suddenly dropped Dwicky, straightening himself and licking away a thin string of saliva. He turned in the direction of the voice, taking a puff of his cig. His free hand moved to set gently on the handle of his blade, which he had tucked away some time before.

Dwicky grunted as he fell back and flailed out his arms to catch his balance. He landed awkwardly, one leg halfway in the air, propped up over the rock he had been sitting on. He blew a small cloud of smoke from the kiss, eyes glancing over to the stranger.

"I got some news." A tall, lanky teenager with dark cocoa skin walked over to them. Thick, grungy black dreads hung loose and wild. He wore a dirty, worn wife beater, ripped old carpenter jeans, and a pair of black, heavy duty boots. "I thought you might be interested."

"And it couldn't wait until tomorrow?" Dib raised a suspicious brow.

"Couldn't wait." The boy smirked, folding his arms and leaning his weight to the side.

"Well, stop fucking around, M. Out with it." Dib grunted and waved his hand in annoyance.

"There have been rumors coming in from the south." M. licked his lips. "People are organizing."

"And why the fuck would I care?" Dib growled, the presence of the other boy only worsening his mood.

"They say one of the leaders is related to you." Brown eyes gazed over at Dwicky, who had righted himself. "Who is that?"

"Related--?" Dib mumbled to himself before glancing over at Dwicky, raising a brow. "Mister Dwicky… Our old skool counselor." Dwicky smiled and gave a little wave at his 'introduction'.

"I wouldn't know. I wasn't crazy like _some_ people." M. smirked and looked back at Dib.

"Shut the fuck up." Dib growled, his free hand pressing fingertips on the handle of his blade.

"Not a very nice thing to say to someone who came all the way out here to keep you updated on current events." The dark skinned boy frowned, feigning hurt. "I'm sorry I interrupted you and your boyfriend…"

"He isn't my boyfriend!" Dib snapped angrily, and took a step forward, his fists clenched.

"I'm pretty sure I saw some lip—No… _tongue_ action when I came over here." M. let his expression melt to a smirk. "Looked like you two were about to go at--"

Dib's fist suddenly slammed against M.'s face, hard and full of anger. The cocoa boy grunted and stumbled in surprise, a hand rising to feel the blood on his lip before he narrowed his eyes and pulled forward to return the blow with a punch of his own. Dib skidded back a bit as the fist caught his jaw, and he swayed, nearly stumbling off balance. He straightened and lashed back to slam another fist to M.'s face, who faltered slightly, but returned the motion with a swift punch to Dib's face. The two pushed away from each other, panting with rage. Dib leaned to spit blood off to the side as M. wiped his lip off on the back of his hand. Dark eyes locked, silently challenging each other.

"I don't care." Dib growled gently, breaking the silence. "I don't care if people are organizing, or rebuilding or whatever the FUCK they are doing."

"You seemed pretty obsessed with 'saving'," M. raised quoting fingers, "everyone back then, Dib."

"Obviously my intentions were proven to be pointless." Dib spat. "What the fuck is the point of trying to help if you can't even save people from themselves?"

"Well, maybe if you weren't so insane and obsessed with aliens…" The darker boy rolled his eyes.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Dib screamed, one hand in the depths of his jacket, gripping the handle of his knife. "Just leave…"

"You should think about what I told you, Dib… You've been alone too long." Dark eyes meet Dwicky's and he shook his head in amused disbelief.

"And you think I wasn't alone even when my family was around?" Anger surged through Dib, and his body twitched with it.

"What a selfish thing to say." M. looked disgusted. "At least your sister could fucking stand to be around you at Skool. She tolerated you more than anyone else did." He shrugged and turned to leave.

Dib just watched the boy disappear into the woods before he turned and kicked a burning log from the fire, tiny embers sparking forth in a little mock explosion. "**FUCK**!" In his state of mind, it was the only thing he could say.

"Dib?" Dwicky's voice gently spoke up.

"What?" The teenager growled with vicious intensity.

"Maybe you should find them." The man's voice was low, quiet, as if sound would harm the angered boy.

"Why? They left me." Dib snorted and plopped himself down on the stone he had been perched on before.

"Sometimes people make mistakes." Dwicky paused and took a breath. "Especially when something as traumatic as," he blinked at the evidence of a world recovering from a terrible war, it was all around him, "this, happens."

"I don't need them." The boy quietly replied and tapped a few fingers on his lips, dabbing at the lingering blood in his saliva.

"No one wants to be alone." Dwicky watched dib from where he had been sitting earlier, hands neatly folded thoughtfully in his lap.

"I'm not alone." Dib rubbed the blood between thumb and finger, watching it with half interest before his eyes snapped up to meet Dwicky's. "Am I?"

The response startled the man and a hand reached up to his tie, giving it a nervous tug. "I suppose not… But they are still your family."

"Whatever." Dib rolled his eyes. "You're not going to stop bugging me until I find them, are you?" Dwicky merely shrugged and Dib sighed. "Fine. I'll find them and it'll be a wonderful, magical family reunion." He growled bitterly. "Then maybe you'll realize just how stupid it is."

"All I ask is that you try." Dwicky smiled gently. "If things are really that bad, then…"

"Then I run off with you and live happily ever after in gay homo love?" Dib raised a brow.

"Uhh.." The man's eyes widened and he seemed at a temporary loss of words.

"I was joking." Dib smirked, wiping his bloody fingertips off on his boot. "Things will just go back to normal. Except…" He trailed off into silence, staring at the fire in thought, or perhaps lack there of.

"Except?" Dwicky regained his ability to speak.

"Except you'll be there." Dark, angry eyes glanced over at the man. "I'm not letting you go." His tone made it seem like a threat, and Dwicky was unsure of how to feel about it.


End file.
